Israelis Choose life

During and after Israel's last summer's more than month long war against Hezb'allah in Lebanon, nothing reveals the optimism, the determination of Israelis, despite the constant threats of all their neighbors who loudly proclaim their goal of annihilating them, than this latest Israeli statistic

the number of women now in their fifth, sixth or seventh month of pregnancy was 35 percent higher than the figure a year ago.

Commenting on the pregnancy figures, Gila Bronner, director of the Sexual Health Service at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, said stepped-up sexual activity after a war was an affirmation of life.

This quiet but effective reaction has a long, honored history in Israel.

Israel experienced a four-year baby boom after the Six-Day War in 1967 and births increased sharply for two years following the end of its 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Religious or secular, Israelis follow the Jewish Biblical commandment, "Choose life so others may live."

During and after Israel's last summer's more than month long war against Hezb'allah in Lebanon, nothing reveals the optimism, the determination of Israelis, despite the constant threats of all their neighbors who loudly proclaim their goal of annihilating them, than this latest Israeli statistic

the number of women now in their fifth, sixth or seventh month of pregnancy was 35 percent higher than the figure a year ago.

Commenting on the pregnancy figures, Gila Bronner, director of the Sexual Health Service at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, said stepped-up sexual activity after a war was an affirmation of life.